The East Coast surf community lost another family member on August 3rd when well-known South Florida surfer Donnie Macrae passed away at the age of 35. Donnie was a fierce competitor with a huge personality and surfed with a mix of power and flash. He was featured in ESM multiple times, beginning with a Who Da Guy profile in June 1996 (Vol. 5, Issue #33) to a double-page spread from J-Bay in September 1998 (Vol. 7, Issue #51) to a shot in the May 1999 (Vol.8, Issue #56) A To Z issue. He was also featured in several Katin and Dragon ads, and was an original ...Lost teamrider who was in the mix with Wardo and Cory in the early days at Lower Trestles. In recent years, Donnie loved to show up at ESA-Treasure Coast District contests — he even won Masters at the 2008 ESA Southeast Regionals and made several other Regionals and Easterns finals — cracking everyone up with his bullhorn antics, and schooling little hotshots like Giorgio Gomez, Nathan Behl, and Ryan and Justin Croteau, who all surfed better because of it. Hopefully they’ll become better people and surfers, as will everyone who knew Donnie. Macrae is survived by his mother Linda, son Dylan, brother Doug, and sister Heather, as well as surf tribes from his native New Jersey to Florida to San Clemente, CA. He was preceded in death by his father Big Don.

Donnie Macrae’s funeral will be held Tuesday, August 16th at the Martin Funeral Home & Crematorium at 5:00 p.m. Afterwards, there will be a paddle-out at Hobe Sound Public Beach, probably around 6:00 to 6:15. Then, on Friday, August 19th, Jim Tolliver's band Tolly Bros. along with B-Liminal will play a fundraising/memorial concert at Scooter’s, and Impact Surfboards shaper/owner Charles Williams will give a speech while surf movies of Donnie will play. Big thanks to Billy Koperski for all the info. Below are memories of Donnie collected by those who knew him best; ESM encourages other friends, family, and admirers to post their favorite DMac stories in the comments below.

Charles Williams, Impact Surfboards shaper/owner: “Donnie deserves recognition, because he was a really good surfer who was also really underrated. I’ve known him since he was about 10, and he started surfing for me when he was 13. He was real aggressive and progressive in the water, and he surfed against all the top guys in the ‘90s competitively and used to whip their butts in their younger years. He was an incredible heat surfer who loved to get in the jersey and do battle. He was one of those guys that I loved because he was such a natural talent… two or three years ago he surfed a couple of ESA Treasure Coast District contests and qualified for Regionals. He didn’t surf for months, didn’t even have a board, and went to Regionals with a new board I gave him that he had never ridden and won Masters and got 2nd-place in Open Shortboard. He was a real natural, and if he ever got focused and off the partying he would have been deadly. He coached the Croteau brothers from an early age, and they’ve gone on to do great things together living in California now. I think the world of those kids, and Donnie was responsible for all of that. He was real good with the kids — didn’t mind telling them ‘Do what I say, not what I do.’ He was always straight up with them: ‘Don’t screw up like me.’ And the kids looked up to him so much because he ripped so hard. We went to Hatteras about five years ago with some of my teamriders from Puerto Rico, and on the drive up they were like, ‘Who is this guy?’ And then once he got in the water they were like, ‘What???’ He was real unassuming, didn’t talk a bunch of crap… but he was a nutjob, straight up. Really a lot of fun to be around, really positive attitude, the first guy to jump in and do what he could do to help out. He just had a heart of gold. One of the best guys you could ever want to meet or go surfing with. If he had treated himself the way he treated others it would have been no problem. He was more like a son to me than a rider — in fact, when he was 13 I took him to Jacksonville for the ESA Southeast Regionals along with about 15 other kids, and we rented a house. Around 10:00 p.m. my wife goes, ‘You did the head count, right?’ But Donnie wasn’t there. I was looking all over the place, and by now it was midnight, so I look in the pool and there’ Donnie with some little girl. I yelled at him, ‘Get up in that room! If you do this again I’ll put you on the bus and send you home and kick your ass!’ I was walking off and the girl goes, ‘Wow, was that your dad?’ And Donnie said, ‘No, worse!’ That was Donnie right there.”

Doug Macrae, brother: "I read a lot of the posted comments before I wrote this and most all of the stories were new to my ears. They all made me laugh when I heard the tales of how Donnie most definitely behaved all of the time. Then they all made me cry because I know there won't be any crazy stories to tell about his years parenting a teenager, or being a grandfather. My heart is truly broken. There's no other earthy connection like that between brothers. When you lose one, you're alone like never before and forever after. Donnie died less than nine months after my father — such an enormous amount of energy to cease so abruptly. No doubt, the world can never be the same. I learned to surf years after Donnie was already good. My distinct memories of my first few times on a board were watching him shred past me on at least three waves before I even made it out... and paddling was never my weakness. He was and still is the best surfer I've ever witnessed in the water. I love you Donnie, you f**ker!"

Dan Conover, longtime friend/ fellow ESA standout: “I’ve been a close friend to Donnie since I was 17. I grew up with him, surfed with him, worked with him, traveled with him, did contests with him, lived next door to him, and partied with him. I saw him up and I saw him down, at his best and at his worst, but in my opinion he was by far one of the most talented surfers to come out of South Florida. I will always remember how he would tell you like it was. There was no beating around the bush with Donnie. Another thing I will always remember about him was his laugh. He was known for it! Thanks for all the great memories, brother! You will be missed in the lineup. If I had one word to sum up his surfing, it would be ‘powerhouse.’”

Josh Wilson, longtime friend/ fellow competitive standout: “Heard the news the day after Donnie passed and it totally rocked my day. I’ve known him for 22 years, grew up surfing tons of contests with him as a grom, and did some traveling with him as I got a bit older. My dad used to take me and the boys to a lot of contests when I was younger, and Donnie would be hanging on the tailgate with all of us. We were like a family back then. Donnie’s backhand was something to reckon with, and I will always remember his forehand turn too. Donnie and I had some legendary trips to Costa back in the day, along with trips to California surfing Lowers and San Clemente Pier for months at a time. We would run all around SoCal like two nuts from Florida just laughing and raising hell the whole time. I will always remember his laugh and his big smile. Living in Jersey I won’t be at the funeral but had to paddle out the other day and just have some time to sit back and reflect on such a good guy. Donnie, you will always be remembered as one of the boys and close to my heart man. PS, I still remember you doing a frontside air over me landing on my foot. Love ya man. Such a great guy. We have all had struggles and had to fight our own battles, and Donnie needs to be remembered as one of our brothers, someone that was as good as anyone."

Teague Taylor, longtime friend/ fellow Treasure Coast ripper: “Donnie was radical and intense. He lived and breathed surfing. He could not sit still. He would make waves out of his place mats on the dining room table and pretend he was surfing them with his fingers. His dad asked me to give him rides to go surf and enter contests. He progressed very quickly because he loved it so much. Next thing I knew he was one of the best kids around. He was also quite a character. He will be missed.”

Guy Lofgren, longtime friend: “In 1989, I was in 8th grade, working after school at a local grocery store, and surfing every chance I had. I had been friends with Donnie for about a year or so at this time, surfing local contests with and against him. Donnie and I were always trying to one up each other on a new move, bigger wave, better wave, etc. One day Donnie asked me if I was in for the trip to New Smyrna for a long weekend — his dad Big Don was driving, and a bunch of local guys were going. The only problems were, I had to work, and my board was in bad shape. Donnie being how he was said, ‘The hell with work, this trip is going to be epic!’ So I quit my job and took my savings and bought a new board the day we left for the trip. The waves were waist to chest high the whole weekend, and it wasn’t crowded as the accommodations were — about ten guys in a two-room hooch on the beach. We surfed from sunup to sundown the whole weekend, it was one of the most memorable surf trips I have ever been on, and I owe it all to my buddy Donnie. Donnie and his dad, Big Daddy Don will be missed by so many. I’m sure if there are beaches in heaven, Donnie will be out in the lineup before the sun rises forever more. R.I.P. my friend.”

Billy Koperski, longtime friend: “One of Don-broski’s favorite stunts, especially with newer friends, was to propose to get a bite to eat after a surf or whatever, fully order, then say, ‘Hey bro, I got no money, could you spot me?’ This resulted in his nickname ‘Dollar Donnie.’ Then there was the time he convinced his new roommate that since he paid half the rent, then he also had a right to half the air in the place. This was in an attempt to justify smoking cigarettes inside. The dude hated it but actually went along with it. Then he lit one up, ripped a fart, and broke out the Woody Woodpecker laugh. There is also an infamous story of him getting chased from the north side of Jupiter Inlet all the way back to his car parked by the bridge by a pack of angry locals for dropping in on one particular heavy local… and just his overall punk aggro-ness. He later became friends with most of them.”

Doug Bard, longtime friend: “I have been friends with Donnie since back in 1994-1995 when he spent some good time on LBI, NJ, and we both worked at the Ketch. I can’t believe he's gone — what a radical maniac with a huge heart!  Love that dude! Anyway, in the summer of ’95, DMac had gone out to Cali to stay in the …Lost house with Cory Lopez et al. I would get random tweaked out messages from him — he made specific mention of this crazy dude Randall who he described as a ‘court jester on acid’ — until one day he called and said he was in trouble with the law and he had to come back East, and could he stay with me? Of course I said yes and a few days later DMac showed up at my door with a tape of this band called Sublime and two dudes — one older ratty looking guy named Mike Reola and some prodigy San Clemente kid named Chris Ward. The debauchery that ensued was stuff for the ages, especially a day trip to Cape May chasing a hurricane swell in ‘The Silver Bullet,’ a 1986 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, my most prized possession at the time. At the time Donnie was killing it and was sponsored by Katin, Dragon, and Cannibal Surfboards. Looking back on it now, not only was he the spitting image of Mick Fanning, who obviously wasn’t even on the radar yet, but he also definitely had his own version of a ‘Eugene’ personality and regularly got us into all sorts of trouble. I really don’t remember how many days they were around, but it wasn’t long until the Atlantic began to rumble again. For the most part, this was good news, but there were a couple of issues at hand: one was that the winds were predicted to be from the north, which meant surf one of the local jetties on the south end of the island, drive north to Long Island, or drive south to Cape May. The other problem was that DMac had no car, which is why he strategically waited until we were in the middle of partying one night to ask me if he could take The Silver Bullet south in the morning. I had to work the next day and there was no chance for me to hit it, so I reluctantly agreed, with premonitions that it was just a real bad idea. I passed out that night and when I awoke the next morning, DMac and company were gone… and so was The Silver Bullet. I spent the better part of the morning trying to reconcile whether I had actually agreed to let him use the car or if it was some kind of bad dream. After shaking my hangover and working a full day, I was back at the pad and starting to wonder if I’d ever see my baby again, when I heard a heinous sound, like that of a group of misfiring Harleys. It was getting closer and louder to the point that I thought it might come through the front door. Just as I stood up to go see what it was, the noise stopped. I went to the window expecting to see the Hells Angels or an army tank, but there was only The Silver Bullet and the three jokers just getting out it. With Mike and Chris sheepishly grinning, DMac began to speak: 'Uhh dude, I got something to tell you.' He didn’t need to say anything, though, as my car sounded like a friggin’ bomb with wheels. He went on to tell me some convoluted story that to this day I do not remember, but what I do remember is that the story didn’t make any sense and never quite explained how they managed to almost rip the entire exhaust system from under my car. The Silver Bullet has long since gone to surf mobile heaven, and my new ride works just fine. After all this time, I guess I’d just like to ask Chris Ward or Mike Reola if either of them can explain how exactly it happened. The last time I saw Donnie was about one and a half years ago, when I picked him up from the airport, fed him, and gave him a place to stay. Pray for Donnie and he would want us to pray for waves! Most of all I’ll miss that DMac laugh.”

Ivan Kellerman, longtime friend: “Thanks for being the lightning rod for the memorial of Donnie Mac — and that he was, a lightning rod. I first met him south of Duck Park when it broke on the inside really close to the beach. There was rebar, concrete, rocks, and rusted fishing lines right in the lineup. It wasn't better or bigger there — it was just a place to find DMac. It was kinda like surfing in a Mad Max movie. The guy would punt over the wreckage, wash up onshore and then laugh so loud everyone wanted to surf there. It was electric, and really something I gravitated to coming in from SoPalm. Donnie was a towhead, no leash, funny as hell, kind guy. Love you bro, fins out forever.”

Jim Tolliver, longtime friend/ South Florida surfer and musician: “Donnie was my roommate for three years, and I’ve always been a good friend of the family. He was a real good surfer, one of the most talented guys in South Florida for sure. I remember back in the day in NSSA he was hanging right there with the Hobgoods and those guys. Donnie came back around 2006-2007 doing local contests and always making semis — he could surf no matter what. He would always come up with crazy stuff to make you laugh, too. He once left a hilarious note on my brother’s car that can’t be reprinted here. He was a phenomenal surfer.”

Tom Warnke, South Florida legend/ ESA Board of Directors member: “I knew Donnie when he surfed the ESA-Palm Beach District way back in the day. He was one of the best ever from the Jupiter area. He was on the Ocean Magic Surf Shop team when I worked there for Don French. We put on the first pro-am in the area at Juno Pier, which eventually became the Jupiter Fall Classic. In fact, Donnie was on the first poster. I think I still have that poster somewhere. He was definitely the hottest surfer from Jupiter.”

Aaron Cormican, longtime admirer/ East Coast kingpin: “Man when I woke up, and saw on a friend’s post that Donnie had died I was shocked! He was such a cool guy and an insane surfer. As a kid, I remember him being one of THE guys that were really pushing it out in the water. I was glad I got to catch a few sessions with him; I think one that stands out was a hurricane swell in the Gulf, when Donnie did a five-foot air and freaked the beach out. It sucks that we have lost another brother of the ocean, because he was an East Coast legend. Live in peace Donnie Mac…”

Dick Meseroll, ESM Co-Founder/ Photo Editor Emeritus: “I can remember so vividly the kid as a totally amped, smiling, towheaded, clear-eyed grom killing it whenever he came up to Sebastian Inlet. He was a real standout, which was not easy when you think of the group he came up with and that the Inlet was still THE epicenter of East Coast surfing. He used to call me 'Mr. Meseroll’ when I first met him, probably through one of the Williams brothers. R.I.P. Donnie Mac.”

Mike Bloom, Jupiter Fall Classic organizer/ Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series president: “I was judging a contest that Donnie was in years ago. He was so pumped up that when he paddled out he caught a wave before the horn blew to start the heat. I remember the judges all looking at each other in amazement because we all agreed that we would have given him a 10 on that wave. Needless to say, he went on to win the heat without that wave. Donnie was a true character, and will be missed.”

Lance O, Kulcha Shok Muzik head honcho/ South Florida staple: “I didn’t know Donnie all that well, but I did surf with him a few times and commentated a few contests he surfed in like the Treasure Chest Pro-Am put on by Surf Central and Quiksilver as well as one in Ft. Pierce at the North Jetty. My memories were all good; he had an energy that was really strong, positive, and uplifting, something I was definitely drawn towards. I had heard a few things about him and his surfing, and it was easy to see that he was a good surfer. He'd taken out a couple of good people in both contests I did with him; I believe he even made it to the semifinals in the Ft. Pierce contest. I remember him saying it felt really good and he wanted to get back into it and take his surfing more seriously. We even discussed him riding for Kulcha Shok, and he rocked my stickers on his board out of love.”

 

: ADVERTISMENT : : ADVERTISMENT :

http://www.easternsurf.com/feature_081111/index.html